As the trade war between the United States and Canada continues to escalate, on August 26 local time, the White House posted a statement on its official social media platform, boasting that President Trump "is finally going to end Canada's free ride policy." The post included a highly provocative image—a white-headed eagle tightly gripping a Canadian goose.
The text states that “Canada has taken advantage of the United States for decades.” Now, Trump no longer intends to allow Canada to continue doing this. The White House also said that “Canadian leadership has chosen retaliation rather than cooperation,” and that the United States “no longer wishes to continue supporting them.”
However, this photo has an ending that the White House didn’t reveal—in the end, it was the geese that won.
This group of photographs was taken by amateur photographer Mervyn Sequiera in February 2025. It captures a real fight that lasted about 20 minutes: a bald eagle attacked a Canadian goose several times. The goose fought back vigorously, and eventually the bald eagle stopped attacking and flew away from the scene. The goose survived.
Due to the sudden collapse of the negotiations with Canada at the last moment, Trump announced on August 20 that starting from August 22, a 50% tariff would be imposed on Canadian imports worth $20 billion. Additionally, starting from January 1, 2027, tariffs will be increased to 50% for Canadian automobiles, steel, and other products.
Canada announced that it would impose equivalent retaliatory tariffs on the United States starting September 8th. These tariffs apply to over 700 types of goods, with rates ranging from 15%, 25%, and 50%. According to the counter-tariff list published by Canada's Treasury, tariffs on most steel and aluminum products imported from the United States will increase from 25% to 50%. Dairy products, fish, seafood, and some steel and aluminum derivatives will be subject to a 25% tariff. Electronic products will be subject to a 15% tariff.
A Canadian official told Reuters on the 25th that the counter-measures tariffs were designed to minimize their impact on Canadian consumers and businesses, while still having a precise effect on the U.S. economy.
According to The Associated Press, Trump said he is considering renaming Lake Ontario as "American Lake," because the United States "is not expected to have much business dealings with Ontario, Canada in the future." Ontario's governor, John Holland Ford, countered that Trump's idea "was nothing but empty talk."
On August 26 local time, Ford also said in a public speech that Trump’s arrogant attitude during the Canada-US trade negotiations has brought together members of different political parties in Canada and all citizens to a level of unity that has never been seen before.
He said, “No matter what your political background it is, whether you come from the Green Party, the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, or the Conservative Party, everyone has come together. If Trump did two good things for Canada, then he made us wake up quickly and united as never before. So all of our forces will unite, and we will continue to move forward.”
Ford also stated that in addition to the countermeasures announced by the federal government against equal tariffs imposed by the United States, provinces including Ontario have various other options for countering U.S. tariffs. However, the best way to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries remains through continued negotiations.
